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Jack

Wimbledon Stars Depart Kingsmeadow

With the influx of ten players arriving this summer, Dave Beasant has now began cutting the squad down of it's surplus contracts - starting with centre-back Paul Huntington.

Stephen Hunt has been the only big-name departure out of Kingsmeadow this summer, until now that is. Peterborough United offered a £325,000 sum for our centre-back after having a bid rejected for Karleigh Osborne earlier in the window.

Without Huntington's departure, Wimbledon would have entered the new season with six different centre-backs, despite Beasant's system only utilising two.

The 28-year-old was a very helpful signing when we needed him, unlike now. He made 51 appearances in all competitions last season in our promotion season following his free transfer from Preston North End.

Despite Beasant's undying loyalty towards Damian Reeves, the 30-year-old has finally agreed a move to Fleetwood Town after Wimbledon's entry into League One.

His time at Wimbledon meant he played in the Football League for the first time in his career - despite being 28 years old at the time of arrival. The poacher racked up 116 goals in four seasons at previous club Altrincham before agreeing a £25,000 move to League Two's AFC Wimbledon.

The striker wowed fans playing alongside a variation of strikers in his first season such as Azeez, Elliott and Thierry Ambrose. The 5'9" striker scored 22 league goals in 39 games in his first season at Kingsmeadow. As Warren Bentley joined from Winchester City last season, though, the goals were more shared out, with Reeves hitting seven less goals in five less appearances in the league.

He now moves to Fleetwood Town for a fee of £120,000 - a £85,000 profit on what he first joined for.

The latest permanent departure, though is Nathan Doyle's free transfer over to Deepdale as he links up with Preston North End.

The 29-year-old commander joined for a fee just under £15,000 from Luton Town in January 2016 as his contract ran out six months later at Kenilworth Road.

The Capital One Cup finalist joined as a replacement for both released midfielder Michael Tonge, and £400,000-rated Jonny Rowell, who coincidentally joined Doyle's old team Bradford City.

The midfielder made 15 appearances last season for The Dons as Jake Reeves and Paul Mooney dominated the two central midfielder slots in Beasant's system.

In terms of temporary departures, there are two more - taking the tally up to five loan departures this summer. AFC Wimbledon youth products Ryan Wearing and Lorcan Riley leave for the rest of the season. Wearing finds himself linking up with Wimbledon teammate Daniel Akindayini at Forest Green Rovers, meanwhile Riley joins Havant & Waterlooville.

Jack

9 years

To say we have had some real challenges, including two very good Premier League teams, and two teams from the Belgian Pro League, we have done ourselves proud this summer. With the ten new faces granted, it makes the four wins and two draws look even better! Adam Campbell looks very bright for this season, out of a very tough bunch to pick from. The lowest team we played - Hayes Gate, we beat them 6-1 so a reasonable result. A draw against Southampton and a great performance against Arsenal has proven we are ready for what 2016/17 has to throw at us.

FIXTURES

AFC Wimbledon 0 - 2 Arsenal F.C.

6/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall (Doyle 57), Baudry (Davey 62), Osborne (Calvet 45), Newton (Mooney 45), J Reeves, Vicars, Bentley (Jones 45), Isgrove, Campbell (Poleon 62), D Reeves (Nolan 57)

Goalscorers: None

AFC Wimbledon 4 - 0 KV Kortrijk Voetbalt

10/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Doyle, Reeves, Bentley, Isgrove, Poleon, Campbell

Goalscorers: Nathan Doyle (pen 4), Jake Reeves (11), Dominic Poleon (21), Adam Campbell (75)

AFC Wimbledon 6 - 1 Hayes Gate FC

13/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall (Doyle 62), Davey (Baudry 45), Calvet, Newton, Vicars (Mooney 62), Nolan (Reeves 75), Dombaxe (Jones 62), Isgrove, Campbell (Bentley 77), Poleon

Goalscorers: Dominic Poleon (36, 46), Adam Campbell (62), Paul Mooney (76), Warren Bentley (78), Lloyd Isgrove (81)

Mansfield Town 2 - 4 AFC Wimbledon

16/7/2016
Friendly Match
Field Mill

Lineup: Alnwick, Vicars (Doyle 74), Baudry (Davey 82), Hall (Calvet 58), Mooney (Newton 58), Reeves, Nolan, Dombaxe (Jones 74), Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon (Bentley 74)

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (12, 28, 82, 85)

KAA Gent 2 - 2 AFC Wimbledon

18/7/2016
Friendly Match
Ghelamco Arena

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Davey (Baudry 55), Calvet (Vicars 61), Newton, Jones (Nolan 72), Doyle (Mooney 55), Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon (Bentley 72)

Goalscorers: Dominic Poleon (9), Lloyd Isgrove (39)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 1 Hamilton Academical

23/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Larkins (Alnwick 57), Hall, Baudry, Calvet (Riley 45), Newton (Mooney 65), Reeves (Nolan 57), Doyle (Vicars 88), Dombaxe (Jones 71), Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon (Bentley 57)

Goalscorers: Lloyd Isgrove (60), Warren Bentley (80)

AFC Wimbledon 3 - 4 Rangers FC

26/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Doyle 68), Baudry (Hall 54), Osborne (Hutchinson 49), Newton, Reeves (Vicars 62), Mooney (Nolan 45), Dombaxe, Isgrove (Jones 34), Campbell (Murray 54), Poleon (Bentley 49)

Goalscorers: Glenn Murray (67), Mike Jones (70), Nathan Doyle (pen 74)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 2 Southampton F.C.

30/7/2016
Friendly Match
Kingsmeadow

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 76), Baudry (Hutchinson 76), Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney (Nolan 81), Dombaxe, Poleon (Murray 81), Bentley (Jones 76), Campbell

Goalscorers: Laste Dombaxe (19), Adam Campbell (55)

PLAYER OF PRESEASON

ADAM CAMPBELL

If this award didn't go to Campbell, then I should be jailed for dishonesty. This boy has been absolutely banging them in this preseason, including a four-goal rout against Mansfield. His link-up play with Dom Poleon has been immense and I cannot wait to see them in the league as it will be the first time we will have ever had such a pacy front two.

NEXT MONTH: AUGUST

We open our League One account away from home at Bloomfield Road where Omar Rowe and his men try get revenge on his old team. We then play our first cup game of the season when we face Brighton & Hove Albion in the first round of the League Cup at the coast. Our first home match will be against Oldham, who will stun me if they stay up after releasing eleven first-team players such as Mike Jones and Dom Poleon and replaced them with so many youngsters that they will not stand a chance in this league, surely. After that we face Rochdale, Doncaster Rovers and Southend United.

Jack

9 years

MATCH REPORT: Dons Coast Past Brighton

After a 1-0 loss to Blackpool at the weekend, it all seemed like a false dawn for the hopeful Wimbledon fans. That hope can be awoken once again as their Dons ran out 5-0 winners against Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion.

Adam Campbell, Dominic Poleon and Shaun Hutchinson all scored their first competitive goal in a Wimbledon shirt last night at the American Express Community Stadium.

With Beasant's boys in their plain white away strip, it was Lloyd Isgrove who opened the scoring just thirty seconds into the game, with the winger latching onto a low cross hit by Adam Campbell to make it 1-0 to Beasant's side.

Next it was Adam Campbell to score his first goal in a Wimbledon shirt. A Steve Cobb cross was fired in, headed away by Brighton's Gaetan Bong - this found Sean Newton's head who sent it towards goal, only for Adam Campbell to run in and scoop up the goods. 2-0 to Wimbledon in the 43rd minute.

It went from bad to worse for Brighton as Stuart O'Keefe was sent off in the 53rd minute for a disgraceful two-footed challenge on Lloyd Isgrove out on the left-wing.

AFC Wimbledon capitalised on Brighton's lack of players as Dominic Poleon made it three for Wimbledon. A beautiful piece of interplay by Isgrove and the goalscorer himself set the former Oldham striker up for a tidy finish to the right-hand side of the goal. A quality finish to make it 3-0 in the 64th minute.

Former Fulham centre-back Shaun Hutchinson made it a fourth in the 71st minute, with a Sean Newton corner sailing low to the near-post for the 25-year-old the ping into the back of the net, catching Brighton keeper Maenpaa off-guard!

The next and final goal of the game is a potential contender for Goal of the Season from Paul Mooney! He picked the ball up in the middle before finding Dombaxe, Dombaxe laid it off for the makeshift right-back Osborne, who spotted an easy pass to Kevin Nolan. Under pressure, the captain laid it on a plate for Mooney, who took one touch to adjust himself for the 30-yard thunderbolt that was to happen. A great, great goal to cap of a great, great game for Wimbledon.

The thrashing of The Seagulls saw us through to the next phase of the League Cup, as we are drawn against Stoke City - Premier League opposition. That game will be played at the Britannia Stadium on the 23rd of August.

Jack

9 years

Now that is how you introduce yourself to a new league. Nineteen - yes, nineteen goals were scored by us in our first ever month in League One football. Yes, we were beaten on the opening day by Blackpool thanks to a goal scored by Omar Rowe, the player I sold to them two years ago for £275,000 - he did not want to do us any favours that day. But due to our resounding 5-0 win over Brighton, it inspired us to hit five goals three more times this month, against Rochdale, Southend and Oldham. We also made our way through to the Third Round of the League Cup, thanks to a 3-1 win over Second Round opponents Stoke City. Very impressive - lets look at the results.

FIXTURES

Blackpool F.C. 1 - 0 AFC Wimbledon

6/8/2016
Bloomfield Road
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Osborne (Hutchinson 74), Newton, Reeves (Nolan 79), Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon (Murray 74)

Goalscorers: None

Brighton & Hove Albion 0 - 5 AFC Wimbledon

9/8/2016
AMEX Stadium
Capital One Cup 1st Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 53), Osborne, Hutchinson, Newton, Nolan (Reeves 79), Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Murray (Poleon 61)

Goalscorers: Lloyd Isgrove (1), Adam Campbell (43), Dom Poleon (64), Shaun Hutchinson (71), Paul Mooney (78)

Rochdale A.F.C 2 - 5 AFC Wimbledon

16/8/2016
Spotland
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 69), Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney (Nolan 69), Dombaxe, Isgrove, Poleon, Campbell (Murray 76)

Goalscorers: Steve Cobb (26), Dom Poleon (45, 76), Adam Campbell (52), Laste Dombaxe (63)

AFC Wimbledon 5 - 1 Doncaster Rovers

20/8/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Hutchinson (Osborne 65), Newton, Nolan (Reeves 60), Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell (Murray 65), Poleon

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (pen 20), Laste Dombaxe (25, 81), Shaun Hutchinson (48), Dom Poleon (85)

Stoke City 1 - 3 AFC Wimbledon

23/8/2016
Britannia Stadium
Capital One Cup 2nd Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 72), Osborne (Baudry 82), Hutchinson, Newton, Mooney, Reeves, Dombaxe (Bentley 82), Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (1), Laste Dombaxe (32), Dom Poleon (52)

Southend United 1 - 4 AFC Wimbledon

27/8/2016
Roots Hall
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Hutchinson, Newton, Mooney, Nolan, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Mathieu Baudry (9), Adam Campbell (pen 29), Dom Poleon (48), Laste Dombaxe (71)

AFC Wimbledon 5 - 0 Oldham Athletic

30/8/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Baudry (Hutchinson 72), Osborne, Newton, Reeves (Nolan 71), Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon (Murray 72)

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (45+1, pen 74), Lloyd Isgrove (72), Glenn Murray (78)

LEAGUE TABLE

To say we are predicted to come 2nd place in this league, I think we're doing pretty well. I think the additions of Campbell and Poleon are by far the most important as they just don't want to stop scoring it seems! We're six goals better than Blackpool, who have scored the 2nd highest amount of goals. Due to our loss to The Seasiders, we currently sit in third, behind both Barnsley and Blackpool themselves.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

LASTE DOMBAXE

Believe me, Dombaxe is one of the most talented wingers I have come across in this game. He has the ability to run at defenders, the ability to provide a decent final ball and the ability to finish. When it's all clumped together into one winger, it is something very useful and I am extremely happy he is here to stay here now.

NEXT MONTH: SEPTEMBER

Due to our progress in the League Cup, we now have a tie set up against Champions League competitors Liverpool F.C.. Other than that, bar Leyton Orient, I see not much threat for us going into September.

Jack

9 years

Beasant Shaping a New Wimbledon Future

Ever since Dave Beasant's arrival at AFC Wimbledon it has been all-guns-blazing over at Kingsmeadow.

The former England international has brought a new revolutionary idea into his first ever professional managerial role at Wimbledon.

The Dons' boss signed up non-league players such as Paul Mooney, Damian Reeves, along with the flair and pace of three Manchester City loanees going by the names of Thierry Ambrose, Brandon Barker and Mathias Bossaerts.

It was a strange, jumbled up kind of squad, but it took Beasant's side into their highest ever position in the Football League in their existence - 7th, a League Two Play-Off position.

Unfortunately, Wimbledon lost out to a flurry of late goals in the Play-Off Semi-Finals against Leyton Orient, with the aggregate score tallying up to a 4-3 victory in Orient's favour.

The next summer, Beasant finalised another influx of new players, signing ten in July and August. Winchester City striker Warren Bentley was a shock as the first signing of the window, with the striker arriving from such a low level of football it was a bit of a risk buy. But he shocked the league, finishing 14 goals in 44 appearances for The Dons.

Lloyd Isgrove and Grant Hall were probably the two most inspiring signings of last summer. The club made £1.6 million just from transfer revenue last season which was key for the ownership, who were struggling to cope with the wages of the high-quality players brought in in the summer.

But the financial outlay was well worth it, with Wimbledon missing out on the title by two points, but still going up into League One alongside Northampton, Morecambe and Oldham.

The board thanked Beasant for such remarkable progress and aid in lifting their club into the higher tiers of football by extending the 57-year-old's contract at Kingsmeadow by two years. Because of the clubs' progress courtesy of Beasant's leadership, the club can now fund for a new stadium, near the site of Wimbledon F.C.'s Plough Lane. The construction will be complete in June next year and will be named 'New Plough Lane' in retrospect of the oldco's old ground before their relocating and rebranding to Milton Keynes.

With the new youth talent rising through the Wimbledon ranks, like Terry Hutchins, Steve Cobb, Lorcan Riley, Connor Stewart, Karim Hanna and Ryan Wearing, along with the youthful signings of Lloyd Isgrove, Adam Campbell and Laste Dombaxe, it is a positive time to be a Wimbledon fan, with the club flying high in League One in 3rd place and on top of the goalscoring charts by a long way with 20 goals scored this season.

Jack

9 years

AFC Wimbledon in Liverpool Goal Bonanza

Dominic Poleon and Adam Campbell were among the goals at Kingsmeadow as Dave Beasant's side lost in a 6-3 thriller against Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side.

As the Northern Irish manager played out a full-strength Liverpool side, fielding the likes of Markel Susaeta, Andriy Yarmolenko and Lorenzo Insigne, he would've never expected the game that was to come.

Liverpool were undoubtedly the favourites in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round match away at Wimbledon, with The Reds coming off the back of a 2-2 draw with Fulham in the league and a 2-0 win midweek in Europe against Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Kingsmeadow was a sell-out as the Scousers came to town, with 5,339 supporters from either side turning up to reach the stadium's capacity. With the television privilege going towards the Charlton vs Manchester United game, the world missed out on an absolute cracker.

Brendan Rodgers' side were two goals to the good in the 36th minute after goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Emre Can pleased the expectant Liverpool fans. They didn't expect what was to come next.

Two minutes after Emre Can's 36th minute header, Dominic Poleon pulled one back for the hosts - rising the 23-year-old's goal tally in all competitions to 12 goals in 12 games.

Half-time came and went, and 14 minutes after the whistle went for the beginning of the second half, Wimbledon's Mathieu Baudry levelled the scoring at Kingsmeadow. Not that the joy lasted long, with Daniel Sturridge putting Liverpool back in the driving seat just a minute after.

Liverpool scored another courtesy of Martin Skrtel just five minutes after, rising their winning margin to two goals for the second time in the game. And once again, Wimbledon pulled one back, making it 4-3 thanks to Adam Campbell.

Lorenzo Insigne put Liverpool two goals up once again in the 82nd minute, before Sturridge got his second of the game just a minute after, completing the scoring.

After the match, Dave Beasant said he was 'gutted' not to match Liverpool's quality until the end of the game - high ambitions for a League One team to keep up with, but proof that Wimbledon want to get better and better.

This game was a treat that television truly missed out on.

Jack

9 years

I think it's safe to say that the calm has arrived after the storm of the huge wins of August. We opened September up with an unfortunate 2-1 loss to Colchester United in the league, with us owning 59% of the ball during that match, whilst having 7 more shots on goal than our opponents. An entertaining 3-3 draw against bottom of the league Coventry City followed that, which I was disappointed with, although a 3-0 win did arrive the game after. Our loss to Liverpool was disappointing in that we matched them for a lot of the game, only to lose by three goals. Overall, our squad has settled in well and now we can keep pushing for our goals, which is hopefully promotion.

FIXTURES

AFC Wimbledon 1 - 2 Colchester United

3/9/2016
Kingsmeadow
League Two

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Baudry, Hutchinson (Osborne 67), Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Bentley, Stewart (Nolan 73), Poleon, Murray (Reid 61)

Goalscorers: Jake Reeves (77)

Coventry City 3 - 3 AFC Wimbledon

10/9/2016
Ricoh Arena
League Two

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 76), Baudry, Osborne (Hutchinson 76), Newton, Mooney, Nolan (Sent off 83), Dombaxe (Bentley 82), Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Dominic Poleon (7, 19), Mathieu Baudry (43)

AFC Wimbledon 3 - 0 Gillingham F.C.

13/9/2016
Kingsmeadow
League Two

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 70), Osborne (Baudry 65), Hutchinson, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe (Bentley 77), Isgrove, Poleon, Campbell

Goalscorers: Dominic Poleon (23, 43), Adam Campbell (63)

Luton Town 2 - 2 AFC Wimbledon

17/9/2016
Kenilworth Road
League Two

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 76), Baudry (Hutchinson 76), Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney (Nolan 76), Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Laste Dombaxe (18), Dominic Poleon (90)

AFC Wimbledon 3 - 6 Liverpool F.C.

20/9/2016
Kingsmeadow
Capital One Cup 3rd Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall (Cobb 70), Baudry, Hutchinson, Newton, Mooney (Reeves 65), Nolan, Dombaxe (Murray 76), Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Dominic Poleon (38), Mathieu Baudry (59), Adam Campbell (75)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 0 Leyton Orient

24/9/2016
Kingsmeadow
League Two

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Osborne, Hutchinson (Baudry 77), Newton, Reeves, Mooney (Nolan 72), Dombaxe, Isgrove (Murray 50), Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Laste Dombaxe (19), Glenn Murray (pen 85)

LEAGUE TABLE

In the league we have surprisingly moved up into the automatic promotion spots, after what I thought was a poor month from us. Barnsley dropped down into 4th from 2nd place, and so we moved up. However, we are still some way off of Blackpool who sit at the head of the table, five points above us.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

JAKE REEVES

Once again, Jake Reeves has completely amazed me lately. He was dropped down to vice-captain due to Kevin Nolan's arrival and selection as captain, but that is no insult to him other than his experience, which Nolan undoubtedly has more of. But this month the youngster has wowed me and fans with his all-round ability of attacking, creativity and defensiveness. He has already created three goals this season after a short number of appearances so far, to which he will get more of as the season goes on.

NEXT MONTH: OCTOBER

We approach the first season of the Christmas period as October comes next for us. We start with a fixture against newly-relegated Championship side Queens Park Rangers, who still boast Premier League quality such as Leroy Fer, Sandro and Charlie Austin, so that will be a very tough tie. We then play title favourites Millwall twice in a row, in the league and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, as well as Peterborough United who sit in fifth place. We then go onto play Plymouth who're just a place behind the Play-Offs in seventh, then as our final game we play Barnsley who obviously are positioned high in the table. So that creates everything that makes a very tough month for us.

Jack

9 years

Beasant To Sell 'Bad Apple' Vicars

The end is nigh for Ian Vicars as Wimbledon chief Dave Beasant has publicly slated the midfielder in a pre-match press conference ahead of the league fixture against Millwall.

The 20-year-old has came out in the press in recent weeks expressing his motive for a move away from Wimbledon - a club he calls 'hell'.

Although fellow players at the club have defended Beasant's running of the newly-promoted League One side, the manager himself has never made any statement about the players' feelings until now.

"Vicars isn't what we need in a football team. Far from it. He has no right to comment on my running of the club in the way he has." The former England international keeper said.

"If he feels that way about me and this club then he can happily find somewhere else, but I guarantee there is no other place like Wimbledon.

"The club is in high spirits, we're paying millions out to return home, to go back to Plough Lane, where my own career kick-started." Beasant continued.

Vicars is believed to be unhappy about his game time and lack of appreciation shown by his manager and staff towards the player.

Vicars told The Football League Paper: "I'm not happy under Dave Beasant at Kingsmeadow. He refuses to play me despite my effort in training.

"I find it absolutely infuriating for him and his staff to treat me this way and it's beginning to become hell-like for me at Wimbledon.

"Fair enough, he got the team promoted and he's doing well in this league at the moment, but I know I'm better than sitting on the bench here at Wimbledon. I want to move away from this place and develop elsewhere - if Beasant doesn't allow that then it proves what a waste of space he is."

Beasant was incensed by such comments according to sources near the club, but appeared calm in front of the press thankfully.

The former Wimbledon keeper finished his conference by declaring Vicars would be on his way no matter what in January: "Ian [Vicars] will be sold in the next transfer window for definite. Maybe even released before that hopefully, but we'd like to receive a fee as although his comments were appalling, he is worthy of a fee."

Vicars was Dave Beasant's first ever signing as AFC Wimbledon manager in the 2014/15 season. He has appeared 33 times in the last three years at Kingsmeadow - seen as a back-up to Paul Mooney, Jake Reeves, and more recently Kevin Nolan by Beasant.

Jack

9 years

After quite a topsy-turvy September, we stepped our game ten levels and won every single game put in front of us, apart from the Barnsley game which was unfortunately postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Because of such a feit I won the October Manager of the Month award for League One, with all five games being victories for us in the league, as well as progress in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after a dramatic 6-3 win over Millwall. We pushed ourselves further into the automatic promotion spots with wins over Peterborough and Millwall in the league, as we extended our lead over third placed Peterborough to six points, leaving us two points off the top with a game in hand.

FIXTURES

Queens Park Rangers 2 - 3 AFC Wimbledon

1/10/2016
Loftus Road
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Osborne, Hutchinson, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Stewart, Bentley, Campbell

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (13, 33, pen 38)

Millwall F.C. 3 - 6 AFC Wimbledon

4/10/2016
The New Den
Johnstone's Paint Trophy South 2nd Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Nolan (Mooney 56), Reeves, Dombaxe, Reid, Campbell (Bentley 84), Murray

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (11, 55), Karleigh Osborne (16, 58, 63), Warren Bentley (90+2)

Peterborough United 1 - 2 AFC Wimbledon

15/10/2016
London Road
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Osborne, Hutchinson, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe (Stewart 84), Reid, Bentley, Poleon

Goalscorers: Warren Bentley (20), Laste Dombaxe (76)

AFC Wimbledon 3 - 1 Plymouth Argyle

18/10/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall (Cobb 73), Osborne, Hutchinson, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Stewart (Isgrove 45), Poleon, Murray (Bentley 57)

Goalscorers: Dom Poleon (20), Peter Hartley (own goal 85), Warren Bentley (90+3)

Bradford City AFC 1 - 5 AFC Wimbledon

22/10/2016
Valley Parade
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Osborne, Hutchinson, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Stewart, Reid (Isgrove 53, Nolan 73), Poleon (Campbell 63), Murray

Goalscorers: Glenn Murray (1, 48, pen 90+2), Dom Poleon (36), Connor Stewart (82)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 0 Millwall F.C.

25/10/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney (Nolan 85), Bentley (Reid 69), Isgrove, Campbell (Murray 85), Poleon

Goalscorers: Lloyd Isgrove (17), Dom Poleon (58)

LEAGUE TABLE

As said before, our wins against Peterborough and Millwall were both very important to extending our lead at the top of the table. We are now ten points in front of seventh placed Birmingham, which removes any threat of losing a chance of promotion for now. We sit two points behind league leaders Blackpool on 37 points, but we have a game in hand to play, so hopefully we can go top this month.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

KARLEIGH OSBORNE

It was a difficult choice to pick this months' player as everybody played a wonderful part in all the games. But it was our centre-back rock Osborne who I thought contributed the most. The defender has recently realised he has the ability and confidence to bring the ball forward from the back-line, and it has improved his game leaps and bounds. He has kept countless number of attacks at bay and has overall been a superb addition ever since he joined.

NEXT MONTH: NOVEMBER

Next month is set to be quite an easy month for us in my opinion, with the highest ranked team in terms of league position being 8th placed Walsall. We will also take part in the F.A. Cup for the first time this season, after reaching a 4th Round Replay against Ipswich Town last season, impressive for the then-League Two side. They will play Northampton in the First Round.

TayBAFC

9 years

What a start to the season! Some amazing results in there so far.

Jack

9 years

Beasant Snubs International Roles

AFC Wimbledon manager Dave Beasant has reportedly turned down international management offers from the United States of America and Poland national teams.

The news comes as a shock to many, with the majority thinking that such a low-tier manager wouldn't be able to handle a whole country's expectations on his shoulders, more the case with Beasant who has only managed for three years.

The former England goalkeeper hasn't been short of job offers, though, with Nottingham Forest offering the 57-year-old to take the reins at The City Ground, with Hibernian and Queens Park Rangers recently being turned down in favour of a Kingsmeadow stay.

But international management doesn't mean having to leave a club job, and with the USA role offering £29,000 per week plus travelling costs, you would be surprised that Beasant woul turn down such an opportunity.

The Wimbledon manager spoke to the press about the subject before The Dons' 5-0 win against Morecambe: "I don't think we should be talking about it to be honest. The money was good, it was offered to me, I don't deny that.

"I have had many job offers from clubs before, from Scotland, England and even Ireland. This is the first time I have been offered an international management role. I turned down the club offers because I love Wimbledon and I wouldn't get the buzz I do here anywhere else - it's a sacred place for someone like me.

"But as you all may know, with international offers it isn't a requirement to leave your club role. One of the offers were putting almost £30,000 per week on the table. That is life-changing money. I had to think really hard, putting my family before anything as that is most important to me.

"I have a son playing for Cambridge at the moment, so he knows how all the football world works. I mean as soon as my wife heard £30,000 per week it doesn't take a genius to guess her reaction - especially from America.

"But the stress that it takes to even travel regularly between England and North America - not even mentioning the away games we'll play in other countries - it's just draining. Organising two teams at the same time falls into the same tiring category, I wouldn't be able to do that with Wimbledon being in the progressive stage we are in.

"Maybe if an offer comes in later when we are stabilised as a club, I might give it some serious thought, and I might accept it, but for now it's all about us Dons."

Beasant has taken charge of 132 AFC Wimbledon games since taking over at Kingsmeadow in July 2014. He has racked up a 54% win ratio - winning 71 games and losing 40. He has lifted The Dons into their highest position in their history as Wimbledon sit high up in second place in League One.

Jack

9 years

Five Star Performance From Poleon

As AFC Wimbledon rampaged to a 5-1 demolition job of Northampton Town in the F.A. Cup First Round, it was Dom Poleon who stood out, scoring all five of The Dons' goals.

As Dave Beasant's side marched on into the Second Round of the famous and much coveted domestic trophy, the former Oldham and Leeds striker continued to delight his fans.

As the rain lightly fell onto the Kingsmeadow pitch, Poleon got his first of the game in the opening five minutes, with Osborne winning the ball from a tackle in Wimbledon's half, to which Poleon stole off his teammate. The striker ran almost the whole pitch before laying a pass out wide for Connor Stewart, and the winger returned the favour by sending in a low cross which Poleon only had to tap in.

Poleon's second of the game came just 13 minutes after his opener, in the 17th minute. This time it was great interplay by Stewart and full-back Grant Hall before the right-back swung a cross in with his weaker foot, heading towards the back post where the 22-year-old was lurking. Poleon crashed in his header off the underside of the bar before bouncing over the line to make it 2-0 to Wimbledon.

Northampton's attacking-midfielder Tom Lawrence pegged Wimbledon back in the 26th minute, though. The Manchester United graduate latched onto Brown's shot, parried away by Wimbledon's back-up goalie Jake Larkins to make it 2-1.

The game fell silent until eleven minutes after the second half began. Once again, the goal was created from the right flank, as Grant Hall blasted a ball at hip-height towards Poleon's position. The ball ricocheted off of the former Crawley defender, setting Poleon up for a one-on-one with the keeper. Poleon bagged his hat-trick by sweeping a placed shot into the far corner of the Northampton net to make it 3-1 to Wimbledon.

As Tom Lawrence was dispossessed in the Wimbledon half by Jake Reeves, Mooney started up a counter-attack by passing to Poleon's feet. He lended the ball over to strike partner Campbell before receiving it again right on the edge of the Northampton box. It was a poor, slow effort by the striker, but it somehow found its way past the demoralised Clarke as Poleon celebrated his fourth of the game.

Poleon scored his 23rd goal of the season with a top-drawer volley from a Kyel Reid free-kick. Clarke stood still, making no effort to get near the thunderbolt of a shot Poleon had unleashed on him.

Manager Dave Beasant spoke of his strikers' performance: "That's all I expect from Dom [Poleon], he's absolutely lethal in front of goal and everybody who watched any Oldham games last season knows that.

"I'm so glad we managed a deal for both him and Adam [Campbell] as they are known goalscorers, as well as young, promising lads. I hope I can nurture them and turn them into Premier League strikers at one point - big ambitions, but if I didn't have ambition, why would I have taken this job?"

Poleon is League One's joint top-scorer after joining from Oldham this summer just gone. He has scored 13 goals from 15 starts in the league.

Jack

9 years

After a decent month in November, we continued into the last month of 2016 unbeaten, bagging four wins and one draw. Surprisingly though, over half of this month's games have been in cup competitions, although we did have a game postponed due to the poor standard of pitch at Kingsmeadow against Preston in the league. This was down to the winter weather we have been under recently and our lack of undersoil heating. When we move into New Plough Lane in June we are unlikely to have such problems as the new stadium will provide heating underneath the pitch - a function which Kingsmeadow does not allow.

FIXTURES

Southend United 0 - 3 AFC Wimbledon

3/12/2016
Roots Hall
Emirates F.A. Cup 2nd Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Calvet (Osborne 78), Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove (Stewart 78), Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Dom Poleon (2), Adam Campbell (13, 72)

Portsmouth F.C. 1 - 2 AFC Wimbledon

7/12/2016
Fratton Park
Johnstone's Paint Trophy South Semi Final

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall (Cobb 80), Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (pen 73), Dom Poleon (80)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 0 Birmingham City

10/12/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb (Hall 67), Baudry, Hutchinson, Newton, Mooney (Nolan 72), Reeves (Osborne 87), Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Adam Campbell (11, 86)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 2 Blackpool F.C.

26/12/2016
Kingsmeadow
League One

Lineup: Alnwick, Cobb, Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Campbell, Poleon

Goalscorers: Lloyd Isgrove (19), Dom Poleon (43)

AFC Wimbledon 2 - 1 Rotherham United

31/12/2016
Kingsmeadow
Emirates F.A. Cup 3rd Round

Lineup: Alnwick, Hall, Baudry, Osborne, Newton, Reeves, Mooney, Dombaxe, Isgrove, Bentley (Stewart 79), Campbell

Goalscorers: Karleigh Osborne (20), Adam Campbell (88)

LEAGUE TABLE

Going into the New Year we are looking very good for a raid on top spot, as we have two games in hand on current league leaders Blackpool, sitting just three points behind The Seasiders. Following closely behind us in third is Peterborough United, who just have the one game in hand on Keith Hill's Blackpool and sit three points behind us.

NEXT MONTH: JANUARY 2017

To say we play seven league games in the first month of 2017, we have got a set of very poor sides to play, with the only team above midtable being 4th placed Southend United. Our first game is against 23rd placed Oldham, before 19th placed Rochdale make their way to Kingsmeadow. The first leg of our South Final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy will be played against Exeter City at Kingsmeadow, just three days before Southend arrive in Wimbledon. Doncaster would be our next opponents after Southend. Stuart Pearce's men sit in 20th place in the league. We then travel to Colchester to play The U's who sit in 15th place, before a home tie against 22nd placed Preston North End. We finish the month against rock bottom Coventry City who are currently ten points from safety with no games in hand.